


Behind These Walls We Hide

by TheWhiteShellMermaid



Series: All Scars have stories (Stories from the universe of TSWB) [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: Constance is a good mother, Cora is a bitch, Gen, Regina is kept in the dark by her mother, Trigger warning: self harm and past abuse/ violent flashbacks, unwanted reunions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-07 18:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20822195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWhiteShellMermaid/pseuds/TheWhiteShellMermaid
Summary: Eva and Leah Mills don't plan on leaving Cackle's anytime soon. They haven't left the grounds in years, buts that's how they like it. It's safe here, a good hiding place. But their grandmother always gets what she wants, will find them if it's the last thing she does. Enter Cora and Regina Mills. The former has never told her daughter about her history with the twins and the latter believes her mother is only trying to help her find her daughters.The unwanted reunion throws Eva and Leah into painful, long suppressed memories and dredges up all the old insecurities they have tried so hard to forget. Old habits die hard and in the presence of their grandmother, Eva finds herself falling back on old survival methods, because if she appears flawless it will be okay. Grandmother likes flawlessness. but no one is perfect, not even those who have pretended at perfection their entire lives.





	Behind These Walls We Hide

**Author's Note:**

> Well this got a little out of hand. This story, which began months ago in the open plains of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, the towering mountains of Fernie, British Columbia and the miles upon miles of highway between here and there, is a possible future involving an unwanted reunion between Eva and Leah and the Grandmother they ran from. It was meant to be a one shot but judging by the ending, I'll be writing a part two at some point, not that I’m complaining. I loved writing this, even as it began to take on a life of its own.

Fifteen years later, Eva and Leah Mills could still remember the day they'd arrived at Cackle’s Academy like it was yesterday. It was still the best day of their lives, second only to the day they were officially adopted by the woman whom they'd come to see as their mother. They had known right from the start that they'd finally found home. That they were, after everything, safe at last. 

Fifteen years later, they were teachers and still had yet to leave - and more importantly - they had no  _ desire  _ to leave the place they'd claimed as their own. They were safe here and that was all they'd ever wanted. They had no need for the outside world they'd long ago deemed a lost cause. Why would they, when it had been nothing but cruel to them? No, they were content to hide behind the familiar stone walls, living out the rest of their lives in as close to peace as one could get in a rather old-fashioned boarding school for witches. 

They were certain they'd never be found. They had no  _ intention  _ of ever being found, of ever going in search of their birth mother. They daren’t stray far from their hiding place or their beloved protector, for fear of leaving a trail back for their grandmother to follow.

Of course, one should never say never. Not even when one is considered a permanent resident in a small, little known boarding school for witches located, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a rather deep forest in northern England. Not even when one has absolutely no intention of ever setting a toe outside the gates of said school, or when the likelihood of being found - or even that they're still being looked for - is close to naught. As the twins would later discover, never is a dangerous thing to say, or even think. 

** o0o**

It happened quite suddenly, the discovery of the Mills twins’ presence in the academy by - for lack of a better term - the outside world. 

It was an ordinary day at the school. The teachers were teaching, the pupils were learning. The headmistress was indulging in far too much cheesecake. Constance Hardbroom was, once again, insistent that Mildred Hubble should be expelled. Eva and Leah Mills really thought it was Ethel Hallow who deserved expulsion instead. Everything was as it should have been. 

It was three thirty in the afternoon, half way through the last class of the day. Eva taught Latin and she had the fourth years while Leah had the second years for witch history. No one was expecting anyone.

There was a sharp knock at the door. 

The unsuspecting fifth year who answered it didn't know any better. She saw no reason why her teachers shouldn't be getting visitors and was ignorant to the fact that she'd just let their worst nightmare into the school. 

She was blissfully unaware when she knocked on Eva's classroom door. 

Eva was also blissfully unaware when she answered her classroom door. 

  
  


** o0o**

“Miss, there's someone here to see you.” Maren Mayweather explained after Eva opened her door. “They're waiting in the entrance hall.”

Eva froze. She stared at the girl for a moment, dumbfounded. No one ever came to see them, mostly because there was no one out there that knew them. She thought briefly that it might have been one of her school friends, Hannah or Tansy perhaps, but then they surely wouldn't come unannounced, in the middle of a work day, would they? No, it couldn't be them. Her stomach twisted nervously and she wondered if she ought to tell Maren to turn whoever it was away. 

“Who is it, Maren?” She questioned carefully. 

The girl shrugged. “They didn't say, Miss. But they were rather insistent. They want to see Miss Leah as well I think. Shall I fetch her?” 

Eva, feeling increasingly uneasy, shook her head. “No, Maren, Thank you. I'll get her if she is needed. You can go now. I'll take it from here.”

She sent the girl on her way and stepped back into her classroom. “Alright girls, I have to step out for a moment. I want you all to continue with what you're doing now and -” she eyed the usual suspects “- no funny business or you'll find yourselves spending the evening in detention. Is that clear?” 

There was a unified “yes, Miss Mills” from the girls and, satisfied, Eva stepped back out and went on her way. 

She didn't like this. Not one bit. Her every instinct was telling her to turn and run the other way. No one ever came to see them, as they were essentially non-existent to the outside world - a world she couldn't remember, knew nothing about and didn't care to visit. They stayed behind these walls for a reason and to leave would be to break their own rule. 

A rule that had been established to protect them from the one person she feared had now found them. 

She was both glad and annoyed that her classroom was a notable distance from the entrance hall. While it gave her time to prepare, put on her mask and reinforce her walls, ensure her appearance was as flawless as was physically possible, it also prolonged the inevitable and if there was anything she truly hated, it was that. 

So she transferred. 

When she rematerialized, she remained invisible. With one hand resting on the banister, she turned to face the doors. The sound that left her lips - an odd, fearful squeak - drew the attention of the three other occupants. 

Cora Mills’ head snapped around, eyes narrowed suspiciously, while her younger companion - Regina - had a slight frown on her face. Constance, who had discovered the guests shortly after Maren had left them, had been laying into them, or more specifically, Cora, ready to go full mother bear on her, but she stopped abruptly to stare in Eva's direction, rather knowingly. 

Eva was frozen, knuckles white against the wooden banister and eyes wide. She knew they couldn't see her, but that didn't stop the panic from setting in, like ice water running down her spine and sharp fingers squeezing her lungs. Her mind was on fire, an uncontrollable inferno set on destroying the locks that kept her worst memories at bay, her skeletons in their closets. 

The carefully constructed walls, the sense of coveted safety, the dangerously powerful witch that protected the broken little girl within all crumbled around her until the only coherent thought left was one that was as old as she was, had been there as long as she had been.

_ Protect Leah. _

And yet, in her panicked, terrified haze, she still had the presence of mind to reach for her mother. Constance felt her brush against her arm and then press against her side, still small and able to fit perfectly against her mother's tall form. 

She could feel the iron grip she had on her magic slipping precariously, her control over the invisibility spell failing. She let it fall voluntarily, rather than trying to maintain it, knowing better than to display a lack of control in front of her grandmother. 

_ Tiny, six year old Eva shuddered with the effort of keeping her magic in check. She was too frustrated, too angry and far too young to understand why Grandmother hated them so much. Her magic wanted out and she wanted to let it out, the pain of keeping it in like wildfire burning in her veins. There was more magic than physical body to keep it in and it felt although her hands were on fire. Desperate and no longer aware of her grandmother standing over her with cold disapproval in her eyes, she pressed her hands to the cold marble floor. A nearby vase shattered and cracks snaked fast across the floor and up the walls. Eva screamed in terror and scrambled away, only to be dragged back by a firm hand in her hair. _

_ “You stupid, foolish girl! I said control, not release! Look what you've done!” Grandmother shouted, furious.  _

_ Tears formed in little Eva's brown eyes and she stumbled over her words in her rush to respond. “I'm s-sorry, Grandm-mother. I t-tried. . .”  _

_ Cora backhanded her hard across the face and her grip on her arm tightened painfully as she dragged her closer. “You  _ tried. _ ” She imitated, before her voice hardened. “If you do not succeed, that means you are useless. Do you know what I do with things that are useless to me?”  _

_ “Y-yes, Grandmother -” _

_ Something hot and sharp flashed up her arm and there was a flicker of silver as it came to rest under her chin. “Do not answer me back!”  _

_ Eva whimpered in pain as the knife vanished and she was shoved away, landing hard on the cold floor.  _

Eva appeared, half behind Constance, who had moved to stand protectively in front of her. She was holding tight to a handful of the older witch’s dress and was pressed as close to her as possible, like a shy child hiding behind her mother. 

Across from them, Cora didn't look surprised to see her eldest granddaughter materialize, but Regina's eyes were wide, her tears impossible to miss as she caught her first glimpse of her daughter since the day she was born. She seemed almost oblivious to the fact that something was clearly wrong, focused only on her daughter as she was. She stepped closer, eyes fixed on Eva's and one hand outstretched, desperate to confirm that she was in fact real. 

_ Grandmother’s hand snapped up and she cried out in pain as the sharp ring she wore dug into her pale cheek.  _

Eva sprung away, certain she was about to get hit and Constance, probably expecting the same, moved to block her daughter more effectively. 

“Don't you dare touch her!” She snapped, at the same time that Eva snapped “don't touch me!” 

Her eyes were darting between her birth mother and her grandmother, unable to look away for fear of what they might do.  _ This cannot be happening. They weren't supposed to find us!  _ She backed away as Cora strode forward, not sparing her daughter a glance and practically shoving a furious Constance aside in order to get to Eva. 

“Now, darling.” She cooed, voice sickeningly sweet. “Is that anyway to greet your mother?” 

_ That woman is not my mother.  _ “No Grandmother. I was rude. As my mother, she is allowed to do with me what she pleases and I ought to respect her regardless.” Eva replied obediently, forcing her voice to stay steady. 

Constance's eyes widened at those words. That definitely was not something she had taught her girls. It almost sounded as if Eva saw herself as a possession to be used and it made her sick to think that. Was that really how their grandmother saw relationships? Did they really believe that? Part of her knew they didn't, that Eva was just saying what she knew her grandmother wanted to hear; but the other part feared it was what they'd been raised to believe by the horrid woman. 

“Well. It seems you remember at some of what I taught you.” Cora looked pointedly at Regina and then back at Eva. 

Eva stared at her birth mother hesitantly for a moment and Cora looked although she was restraining herself from pushing her forward. Finally she stepped towards the other woman. Her movements were stiff, posture rigid as she raised her hand to her forehead in the witch greeting that had become reflexive over the years. “Well met.” She said, but her voice sounded forced, detached. “I'm Eva, your daughter.” 

She ignored the tears glistening in the woman's eyes and forced herself to look straight forward. Constance slipped up behind her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she relaxed slightly, stepping back towards her until she was once again fit perfectly against her side. 

“I've found you.” Regina’s lips pulled into a watery smile and Constance wasn't sure if she was daft or just unwilling to see everything that was wrong with the current situation. 

“Perhaps we didn't want to be found.” It was barely a whisper and Constance saw how her eyes darted nervously towards her grandmother. Eva felt safe with her mother there though. Mum wouldn't let anything happen to her. “Perhaps we hide for a reason.” 

“Yes.” Said Constance. “You are both unwanted here. I think you should get out, before I call the guild and have your mother arrested.” 

“What?!” Regina snapped. “For what? She hasn't done anything!” 

Constance just scoffed. “You know nothing do you?” 

“Excuse me? Who are you anyway? I have spent years living with the belief that my daughters were dead and now I've finally found them and you have done nothing but try to dissuade me!” Regina exclaimed. 

Constance sighed. She knew she wasn't going to get anywhere like this, that she wasn't being fair. Regina had obviously been kept in the dark about the whole situation; her mother clearly hadn't told her anything and that was hardly her fault. 

“I apologize. I was out of line. There are things you don't know about this that you should and I am only trying to protect my girls from those who want to harm them.” She explained. 

Regina frowned now, confused. “What do you mean, things I don't know that I should? And  _ your girls? _ They are  _ my  _ daughters, not yours.” 

Constance looked to Eva, as if asking her permission. When the younger woman nodded, she continued. “It is a long and less than pleasant story. One I believe your mother has only told you the parts she wants you to know.” 

Eva, who'd been staring at the floor, looked up then. “And perhaps those parts are lies.” 

Suddenly, Cora was right beside her, so close she could feel the older woman’s breath on her ear and she froze in terror, face going white. “Watch yourself girl. You do not speak of the past unless I say.” 

It was barely a whisper but Constance heard it. She spun around, turning furious eyes on Cora and standing protectively over Eva like a mother bear protecting her cub. “No! Absolutely not! You do not get to threaten her into submission! Not anymore! I'll not allow it!” 

Eva looked between the three older women, overwhelmed and terrified and on the verge of a panic attack. She needed to get away, but then, away had always been a relative term. She had never been able to get away before, had never needed to. Not from here -  _ never _ from here. Here was safe. Here was home. Perhaps most importantly, here was Mum; and Mum was safe and home. 

_ Safe and home and Mum. Safe and home and Mum.  _ She repeated the words in her head like a mantra, because Mum had promised that that would never change. It wasn't working. She still felt like someone was squeezing her lungs, like her heart was being powered by an out of control freight train. Her breathing was still too fast and she could still see black spots. She was still trembling, her magic still bubbling uncontrollably under her skin. She was still losing control. 

She had to go. Right now. She needed out. She vanished. 

When she reappeared, she was in the woods at the boundary line, where school property ended and no man’s land began. It was peaceful, quiet until her magic exploded out around her. The trees shuddered, the ground shook. A flock of birds flew up into the sky. A deer ran across the clearing in fear. Eva didn't feel any better as she sunk to her knees. 

“Worthless!” She snarled at herself. “You're worthless! A real witch doesn't lose control like that!” 

Hot tears boiled over and streamed down her pale cheeks, because she was. She always had been. Worthless and unlovable. An ugly sort of broken that no one wanted anything to do with. No one but Mum, because Mum didn't mind a few scars or a little damage. Mum loved them regardless. 

She stopped.

Did she? 

Or was it a lie?

She didn't know anymore. She remembered when she used to be so sure, when everything was okay. When they were safe. That seemed like a very long time ago now. 

It was funny, how quickly one could fall from their pedestal. How, one minute, everything is fine and the next, the world is on fire and there is nowhere to run. 

Nowhere to run.

Eva remembered when she didn't need to run, when she didn't  _ want  _ to run. Here was meant to be safe, but it wasn't anymore. She didn't know what to do. This was never supposed to happen. Running and hiding always came with the risk of being found but Eva and her sister had fooled themselves into believing they were too well hidden to be found. For a long time they were. They knew how to properly disappear - cover your tracks and don't leave a trail. Go somewhere they'd never think to look and never,  _ ever  _ under  _ any  _ circumstances leave that place. They'd done all of those things, but it hadn't been enough. 

_ There's no sense in doing something if you're not going to do it right. _

“You've never really been able to do anything right, have you?” She whispered to herself. “You tried to run. To hide. To protect Leah. To promise her safety, a better life. You failed at all of it! You're useless!” 

In a flash, she summoned a knife to her right hand and, not bothering to pull up her sleeve, she brought it down on her left hand. Once, twice, three times and she still wasn't satisfied. Frustrated and angry and broken again, she drove the knife deep into her hand and screamed, crying out in agony, because her world - the better one she'd built for Leah - was crumbling around her and fifteen years of blissful, safe freedom had ended. 

** o0o**

Leah could sense her sister’s distress. She could sense that something was terribly wrong within the castle, that something was shifting the balance. When the dinner bell went, she dismissed her class and followed them out of the room, rather than stay and tidy up as she usually did. Walking down the hall, weaving expertly among the pupils, she found that Eva's class was still in their room. She dismissed them as well and continued on her way. 

She knew Eva was outside, could tell she was near the boundary line. 

She knew she had to hurry, that whatever had happened was bad. 

Striding down the hall, she rounded the corner into the foyer and summoned her hat and cloak as she did. She almost -  _ almost  _ broke her stride when she saw the obvious reason for her sister’s distress inhabiting the room. She ripped her eyes away before she could break and caught her Mum’s eye instead. They had a brief, silent conversion. Constance knew that Leah was going in search of Eva, could tell as much by the way she didn't stop, not even when she saw the ghost from her past staring straight at her. 

That was the difference between the twin sisters. Eva was rather like fire, hot and fast and unpredictable. Angry at everything and everyone, but mostly herself and often using her anger to mask her other emotions. She was hard to touch without being hurt and hard to contain. She knew how to make her enemies suffer, draw things out and put them through agony. However when she fell, she fell hard, going down like fire doused in water. 

Leah on the other hand was quite like ice. Cold and hard and precise, with walls that were high and slick and impossible to climb. She kept everything in, only ever showing icy indifference to the outside world. She would always appear strong, even as she suffered in silence. She could bide her time and then strike with a single, killing blow. She could crack but would remain standing until she shattered. 

Leah opened the main doors with a mere thought and swept outside. They closed behind her and she let out a breath, because  _ she  _ was  _ here _ , had somehow found her way into their safe haven. Had somehow found them in this place where she should never have even thought to look. She could feel the panic rising, but she fought against it, kept it down. Eva needed her and when Eva needed her, nothing could stop her from getting to her sister. 

She chose to walk out to the border, as it wasn't overly far. She found Eva in a grassy clearing, curled on the ground and clutching her hand. She was trembling. She had her back to her but as Leah drew nearer she spotted the discarded knife on the ground and saw the scarlet blood staining her sister’s hand. 

“Eva?” She whispered as she knelt down beside her beloved sister. 

Eva flinched and shifted to face her, pulling herself up into a sitting position. Tears streamed down her face and her brown eyes were wide with pain and terror. She was no longer the powerful, infallible witch, but the broken little girl who hid behind that facade. 

“Leah.” A breath. “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I -” 

Leah shifted closer. “What are you sorry for, Eva?” 

“I promised you we'd be safe here, t-that she wouldn't find us - couldn't hurt us anymore a-and - and she's here now and I-I failed and I'm so  _ useless!” _

She reached for the knife she'd dropped, but Leah stopped her with a hand on her own. “No, love, we’re not going to do that. That's not what we do.” She was calm and gentle as she guided Eva's hand to her lap where she rubbed it soothingly. With her other hand, she sent the knife away to vanishment. “You are the furthest thing from useless, you know that.” 

Leah, however, did not know how she was managing to stay so calm. Oh, she had always been the calm sister, the one who kept Eva out of trouble, who refused to react to Mariam Hallow’s taunts, but this was different.  _ She  _ was here. They'd been found. There was a distinct, terrible feeling of falling and breathing was rather more work than usual. They had always thought that, under the circumstances of an unwanted reunion with their grandmother, that she'd be the one to panic, to scream and cry and run. Yet she was as calm and cool as a dewdrop gathered at dawn. 

As she pulled herself back to the present, Eva shifted closer to her, pressing against her side and holding on for dear life. Leah hugged her back and they stayed like that for awhile, in the peace of the quiet forest. When Eva had grown silent against her, Leah spoke gently. 

“Can you let me see your hand, Eva?” She asked.

“No.” 

“Please, love? You're bleeding. Let me look, okay?” 

“I'm fine.”

Leah shook her head. “You can't fool me like that, Eva. We always heal each other when we're hurt, remember?” 

Finally, shamefully, Eva held up her injured hand. She looked away as Leah took it in her own and wiped gently at the blood with her thumb. There were three adjacent cuts along the side, below her little finger. Those weren't so bad. It was the large, gaping gash in her palm that caused her concern. 

“Alright, Eva, I'm going to transfer us to the potions lab, okay?” 

Eva's head snapped around, eyes wide. “No!” She shouted as she tried to pull away. 

“Why not?” Leah questioned, even though she knew what the problem was. 

“She's h-here, she's waiting. We're meant to be safe here, but now we're not, and -” 

“I know, I know. Do you want to leave? Should we go to Miss Cackle and ask her to lift the spell? Do you want to disappear again?”

The spell. The one that had kept them safe and secure for the past fifteen years. The one that prevented them from leaving, but also prevented them from being taken against their will. Eva liked that spell. She liked how she didn't have to worry about either of them suddenly being transferred away and beaten like grandmother so often did when they were children, liked that it meant that Leah was safe. She was probably the only one in the world who actually liked confinement spells, who refused to have her’s lifted when given the choice. 

She still remembered the words. Sometimes she'd repeat them to herself in the dark of night when she was feeling far too paranoid. 

_ I cast this spell, to keep you in _

_ Protection from your darkest kin _

_ You'll be safe, within these walls _

_ Forever wandering Cackle’s halls _

_ Should you ask, I'll set you free _

_ But home this place shall always be _

No, Eva did not want to leave. Leaving would mean leaving Mum and Eva didn't ever want to leave the one person who had always protected them, who loved them, broken parts and all. She did not want to venture out into foreign lands populated by faceless monsters. This was home and Eva wouldn't let it go without a fight. 

“No. I like that spell. I like it here. I'd miss Mama to much. No.” 

Leah nodded. She rather agreed with that sentiment. “Alright. Will you come to the lab with me now, then? We’ll clean your hand and then we can go find Mum.”

Eva thought about that. Her hand was hurting and it was bleeding and, rather childishly, she wanted her Mum. “Okay.” She took a breath. “But I'll protect you. I'll protect you this time, I promise. It'll be okay.” 

Leah tilted her head indulgently. “Alright.” 

She let her magic sweep around them, warm and familiar. They faded into the ether, an airless, endless void where nothing and no one could reach them. They landed softly, with practiced ease in the empty potions lab. Leah settled her sister at one of the benches and went into the storeroom to fetch some supplies. 

Eva stared at her injured hand, abscently inspecting the blood under her fingernails and the dirt that had gotten in the cuts from lying on the ground. She dug a sharp fingernail from her good hand into the biggest cut and hissed at the pain it caused her. Then she did it again. 

When Leah returned, Eva was completely absorbed in poking at her wounds. She sighed. This wasn't anything she hadn't seen before, though it had been years since the last time it had happened. 

Eva, love, don't do that, you're making it worse.” She explained gently. 

She sat across from her sister and carefully pulled her hand towards her, summoning a clean, damp, cloth as she did. They sat in companionable silence as Leah cleaned up her sister’s hand. Eva didn't flinch as she pressed a cloth soaked in healing potion to it, even though the stuff stung pretty good and she was still as a statue as she stitched up the worst part. She was used to it. 

Just as Leah finished up the stitches, the classroom door opened. Constance peered inside, spotting them immediately. She looked them over, the worry obvious on her face, more so when she saw Eva's hand. She motioned for the woman behind her to wait at the door and moved across the room to her daughters. 

“Are you both alright?” She questioned. 

Leah nodded. “I'm fine. Eva -” 

“I'm fine.” Eva interrupted. “I-I’m fine.” 

Constance however, was not that easily fooled. “Let me see your hand then.” 

She sat down next to Eva, who hadn't moved her hand from the table. Right away, she recognized the angle of the three smaller cuts, which had already scabbed over with the help of the potion. “These look self-inflicted. Did you do this to yourself, Eva?” 

In response, Eva pulled her hand back and looked away. Constance looked to Leah, then back to Eva. “Why on earth didn't you tell me?” She asked softly. She hadn't known about this. She wasn't surprised, to be honest, especially with recent events, but she still felt negligent for not knowing. 

Leah sighed. “It was. . .”

“And don't you dare say it's not important, Leah Mills, because it is.” She warned. 

She closed her eyes. “A long time ago. She hasn't cut in years, not since - not since before we came here.” 

“And you?” Constance pressed. She needed to know. 

Leah shook her head as she hugged herself. “I never saw the point in it. Why hurt myself when Grandmother did it for me?” 

That made sense. Constance had felt the same way when it came to Mistress Broomhead. However, she could see there was guilt in the way that Leah now held herself. “But Eva did.” She prompted. She needed to know for sure that it had stopped prior to today. 

Leah sucked in a breath and nodded. “She only ever did after she had to watch Grandmother hurt me.” She looked to Eva, who was staring at the far wall, refusing to show emotion. “It was - it was self punishment, because she couldn't ever stop it.” 

Eva's face fell, crumpling like paper. There was a haunted look in her eyes and her lips trembled. “It was my fault.” 

“No, Eva, no. You know it was never your fault. You were a child. You never stood a chance against her.” Said Constance. 

“But it is!” Eva exclaimed, suddenly angry. “If I had been better - if - if I - she punished Leah for  _ my  _ shortcomings! She used my  _ sister  _ as a  _ tool _ against me! If I had tried harder -” 

Constance reached over and took her wrists in her hands, careful to avoid the fresh stitches. “Eva, look at me. Her standards were impossibly high,  _ especially  _ for a child. You did your best to surpass something you were never expected to surpass. I think you know she would have hurt Leah regardless of whether you did or not.” 

“But - but maybe it wouldn't have been as bad. Maybe she would have just hurt me instead -” 

“She did hurt you, Eva. She hurt both of you and neither of you are at fault. I know you know that because I taught you that.” Constance explained gently. 

Eva shook her head. “I'm still useless! All I ever wanted was to protect Leah and I’ve failed, I failed back then and I've failed now! I always fail!” She cried, fresh tears streaming down her face. 

Constance shook her head. “No, Eva you haven't failed.” She pulled her daughter close to her and Eva rested her head on her chest. “You brought her here, to me. She'll always be safe here and I'll always protect her and that goes for you too.” 

“I got her to you. She's safe with you. I'm safe with you.” Eva whispered half to herself as she held onto her mum, content in listening to her steadying heartbeat and letting it ground her. 

Leah took her sister's hand again and carefully wrapped it in a soft, white bandage, securing it with a safety pin before vanishing everything back to it’s places. Knowing Eva was safe again, she looked around the room until her gaze fell on the woman standing just inside the door. Her eyes were darting between the twins, as if she was unsure of who she should focus on. Leah chewed her lip anxiously. The woman deserved an explanation - after all, none of this was her fault, not really. Though her presence was unwanted, she was here now and there was nothing anyone could do about that. 

She wiped her hands on her skirt and crossed the room to the door, steps steady, with a perfectly measured amount of confidence. It wouldn't do to show this stranger how uneasy she felt. Leah peered around the woman, eyeing the hallway until she was satisfied no one was out there lurking and watching. The door shut with a well placed thought as she turned to face her birth mother. 

The woman's eyes boring into her made her skin crawl, like spiders were running down her back. It was too much like Grandmother’s cold, furious gaze watching her every move. Leah stared her down, blue eyes sharp and cool and far too calm. She kept their eyes locked, letting this woman know who's territory she'd stumbled into and who's peace she'd interrupted, like an angry dragon challenging a foolish knight. When Regina finally looked away, Leah allowed herself a small smirk, victorious as she knew she would be. 

“Leah.” 

She stared at the woman, who had spoken her name although it was a part of some forbidden, beautiful language. 

“That is my name.” She replied stiffly. 

“You are so beautiful. I never thought I'd see you again.” There were tears in her eyes, which she wiped away with her hand. 

“You needn't lie.” She replied stiltedly. “Now, is there any real reason why you have come here?” 

The other woman blinked in surprise. “What?” 

“You have come here, wandering unbidden into our safe place, assuming we wanted to be found, dragging your monster of a mother with you and,  _ clearly,  _ deeply distressing my sister, which, by the way, I am not at all pleased about.” Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest and she raised an eyebrow, an invitation to argue the point. 

Instead, there was a long silence, in which Leah observed the older woman. She looked hurt, a broken sort of look that she associated with finding out something wasn't as you'd hoped it would be. She reasoned that perhaps she'd been a bit too harsh. Leah continued to watch, waiting patiently for a response. 

“Is your sister - is Eva alright?” 

Leah startled slightly when she finally spoke, but quickly recovered. She wanted to say that Eva was fine but she knew it was obvious that she wasn't, not when she was a grown woman clinging to their mother like a frightened child. “She. . .doesn't take kindly to unwanted visitors, especially those we were specifically trying to avoid at all costs.” 

“You were trying to avoid me?” The brokenness returned and Leah sighed. 

“That is not what I said.” 

“My mother.” Regina replied then, and Leah thought it curious that she'd not just said  _ your grandmother. _

Leah uncrossed her arms just as a black cat padded across from the open window and leapt up to settle on her shoulders. The cat purred as Leah stroked a hand down her long tail in greeting. “This is Raven.” She said when she saw Regina’s curious eyes. “I've had her since my first year. Did you know that witches’ cats have longer life spans due to the magic in their veins?” She was glad to change the subject. 

“No, I - I've never really cared for cats.” 

“Oh. Well I do. I've trained her to lay on my chest or across my shoulders and purr when my anxiety gets bad. She knows when I need her.” Said Leah. She chewed her lip, suddenly realizing what she'd shared. Her birth mother wasn't supposed to know about all her discrepancies. Wasn't supposed to know all the good reasons she had to hate them. 

“Do you need her now? Is that why she showed up?” 

Leah's hand clenched around Raven’s tail, though the cat didn't respond as she was trained not to. “I do not see how that is any of your concern.” 

“I'm your mother -”

Leah laughed, stilted and sharp and humorless. “Is that what you think?” 

“I brought you into this world. I love you and I mourned you. Does that not make me your mother?” Her eyes were wet, tears she could no longer hold back. “I never recovered from losing you, you know.” She added quietly. 

Leah didn't want to hear it. “And yet you abandoned us. To  _ your mother  _ of all the people! Do you know what she  _ did _ to us? What she put us through? You have NO right to us! You are not our mother and we are not your daughters!” She stopped, because no, she was not going to lose it on this woman. She couldn't, even though she desperately wanted to. 

They'd spent years pretending that their grandmother was not their grandmother. That she was just a faceless, nameless monster from their past - a past they had long since left where it belonged. They had pretended that that day in the maze when they'd first seen their birth mother hadn't happened, that she was not the monster they'd found that day. They had stopped associating themselves with their birth family years ago, instead pretending they'd been at Cackle’s from the start, with the only reminders being the nightmares and flashbacks they still suffered from. 

A cold hand in hers pulled her from her thoughts and she looked around to see Eva standing behind her, face pale and eyes frightened. “Come away from her, Leah. Come away from her, she'll hurt you.” 

Eva pulled her back, back towards where Constance was standing by the table they'd been sitting at previously. Leah let her, knowing how her sister’s need to protect her could overpower everything else. 

“You mustn't do that, Leah. You mustn't shout. We're not supposed to shout. She'll hurt you if you do. She'll punish you.” Eva all but whispered. 

Leah exchanged a look with Constance. They both knew, it was easy to see that Eva was falling back on old survival methods - more specifically the list of rules they'd created to minimize the risk of angering their grandmother. The unwanted reunion had shaken her to the core and the broken, terrified child was resurfacing. 

“You think I would hurt you?” Regina’s voice brought her back to the current situation. 

Leah looked at her as Eva moved back to her place practically hiding behind Constance. Leah was a little lost. She had never seen her sister like this. Leah herself had always been the timid one. Eva had always been her overprotective bodyguard. She was not accustomed to reversing those roles. 

“I-I don't know.” She replied and cursed herself for stuttering. No one was supposed to know how afraid she truly was. “I don't know.” Because she didn't. She didn't trust this woman not turn on them the first chance she got. Her eyes fell away from her birth mother and landed on the floor, fixing on a jagged crack in the stone. 

Constance could see the strain on her daughters’ faces, the fear in their eyes. It was almost although they were just as afraid of their birth mother as they were of their grandmother. She needed to do something. She couldn't bear to see her girls like this, falling back into the pit after they'd managed to climb so far. 

“Girls.” She still called them girls even though they were grown up now, because they were still her girls. Her brave girls. “Why don't we go upstairs for awhile? It's dinnertime anyway and I don't think Amelia will mind if we take a break, considering the circumstances.” 

Eva nodded right away, liking the idea of holing up in her room for a bit. She needed to make sure of something first though. “She's not going to come with us, is she?” She questioned quietly as she eyed Regina.

Constance smiled fondly at her daughter. “No dear. I rather think it's time she and her. . . Mother take their leave, don't you?” 

The twins agreed, but Regina wasn't happy about that. “No! You can't keep my daughters from me! You said you had things to explain to me as well! I won't -” 

Constance cut her off with a raised hand. “Yes, well, there has been a change of plans.” 

“But you said -” 

“I know what I said, but I am afraid it will have to wait. Perhaps if you return without your mother at a later date I will be able to tell you then.” 

Regina refused to give in that easily though. “They are grown women. I'm sure they can handle themselves for a few minutes while we talk.” 

This was getting tiresome. “You do not understand. This is for their safety.” 

“Safety?” Quite suddenly, Cora Mills emerged from a cloud of purple smoke, which had appeared in the centre of the room. “Whatever could they need to be kept safe from?” As she spoke, there was a certain falsity to her voice. 

Eva jumped, and then stiffened, although suddenly taking on the qualities of a stone statue. As if, perhaps, she thought that she would not be noticed if she did not move. That, unfortunately, was not the case. 

“Eva. There you are. We were wondering where you'd disappeared off to so abruptly, earlier. Weren't we Regina?” Cora spoke, and the three witches did not like the way her words sounded both concerned and dangerous. 

Regina did not respond. She was finally starting to see that something was wrong with the situation. 

When no one spoke, she continued, taking a few steps towards the twins. “And Leah. You didn't even stop to say hello. That was quite rude, I must say.” She moved closer, too close. “But you always were good at that weren't you? Not speaking. You seldom ever spoke, Leah. I can't understand why.” 

Leah stood perfectly still, her back perfectly straight. Her lips were pressed into a firm line and her eyes were fixed on the particularly interesting far wall. “I am not to speak unless I am spoken to. Is that not correct, grandmother?” 

She was foolish. That was confirmed by the flash of fury in grandmother’s eyes and the twitch of grandmother’s right hand. That was also confirmed by the red hot pain that shot through her thin form, like someone had lit her insides on fire. She stifled a cry, which came out as a strangled squeak, but managed to remain mostly still, save for a subtle flinch. 

Eva's head snapped around, jarred into motion by the pained look on her sister’s suddenly very pale face. Something inside her snapped then, and she turned on her grandmother. 

“NO! Don't you dare hurt my sister! Not again!” 

There was a smell like something burning, which was Eva's magic when she was upset or angry, and before anyone could stop her, she had stepped between Leah and Cora and shoved the older woman back. Her hands were sparking with her magic and she was shaking with the effort of keeping it in. 

The older woman caught herself, but she looked furious. “Oh, you stupid girl, how dare you! Have I taught you nothing!?” 

Eva bared her teeth and a look like a feral cat flashed across her face. She was far too angry to be afraid at this point. “You taught me how to  _ kill.”  _ She took a step forward, hands up and fingers curled as magic hung like a purple fog in the air around her. “You taught me how to be  _ heartless _ to get what I want. Do you know what I want, grandmother? 

Cora raised an eyebrow, daring her to continue. Something about her suggested Eva would likely regret her rebellion. 

“I want you _gone. _Out of my life, out of Leah's life, _out of our home. _If I have to kill you to get that, then _so be it.” _Her voice had gone low and threatening, dangerous if it ever was.

Constance and Leah exchanged a look. They had to do something. They could manage a section 7 certainly, but they couldn't let Eva murder her grandmother outright. It simply was not an option. As their silent conversation continued at dangerous speeds, no one noticed the horrified look that had formed on Regina’s face at Eva's words, or her terror as Cora moved as if to plunge her hand into Eva's chest. 

Eva was fast. Too fast really, to be considered properly human. But then, Eva's instincts, her reflexes, had always been heightened. A second before her grandmother’s hand was to make contact with her body, Eva's own hand flicked, fast like lightning. Cora flew across the room and slammed into the - now even more interesting - far wall. Vines sprung to life from the stones and wrapped tight around her, until she struggled to breathe. Eva crossed the room, her steps measured and even. “You are a threat to everyone you come in contact with. Did you know that? No one wants you here, or anywhere. You are more unwanted than  _ we _ have ever been.” 

Cora's lips twisted cruelly. She vanished the vines and straightened up. “And you are not? Remember Eva. I raised you in  _ my  _ image. If I am a threat, then so are you. There is no sense in hiding the monster behind the mask, Eva. I know it's still there. I made you what you are and you cannot change that. I  _ own  _ you.” She looked disgustedly at her granddaughter then. “This is what happens when pets are left to stray too far. You may be able to strain the chains, Eva but you can never break them. You are  _ mine.”  _

There was a sudden, barely noticeable flicker of Cora's fingers and Eva let out a gasp, her whole form going rigid as her eyes widened in horror. 

  
“Now  _ destroy  _ this place and everyone  _ in it _ . _ ”  _

**Author's Note:**

> Took a bit of a turn at the end there, didn’t it? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and please review. If you liked it, keep your eyes peeled for part two!


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